THE ENDURANCE OF KINDNESS
by Larry Carlson
Hero worship is loosely defined as excessive admiration for someone.
Most of us, as kids, had heroes in sports or music or movies. Or all of those.
Nothing wrong with it.
But how many of us got to break through that sometimes impenetrable wall between the worshiper and the hero? Some of us got autographs requested through mail, hopefully actually signed by the source of adulation. A fortunate few flat out smashed down the fourth wall and made real, person-to-hero contact.
I was a nine-year-old Texas football superfan in 1962, the third year my family trekked from San Antonio to Austin for UT football religious services at Memorial Stadium. Daddy had been a big fan of Ernie Koy when the swift, powerful athlete was magnificent success in football and baseball at Texas, advancing to a career with the Brooklyn Dodgers and other teams while he was known in the 1930s as the fastest player in the majors.
So when Ernie, Jr made his Longhorn football debut for Texas, my Dad wanted me to revere the younger Koy in the manner in which he had marveled about Koy's dad, some thirty years earlier.
It didn't take any arm-twisting.
We were there in Austin when Tulane came in for game three. A soph in his first year of eligibilty, Ernie Koy, Jr was the starting wingback and a heckuva punter. In that 35-8 rout of the Green Wave, he ran the ball for six yards per carry, caught three passes, returned a kickoff and, yep, took a punt back 66 yards for a Texas touchdown. I zipped out on the field to touch him after the final gun, and he smiled at me. I was much too awe-struck to ask for an autograph or utter a few words. But I was one happy kid.
When Koy separated a shoulder against SMU and had to miss the undefeated Longhorns' last three regular season games, Daddy told me I ought to send him a get-well letter. So I did, enclosing drawings, really bad ones, of Longhorn gridiron deeds.
A few weeks later, dining on brown-bag sandwiches in the school cafeteria with my fourth-grade classmates, I spied my Mom approaching my table. How embarrassing! What could she be doing here at school? Was there bad news?
Nope, she was smiling broadly. Turns out she had tears of joy in her blue eyes. She was almost shaking. Soon, I was, too. Mom handed me a letter, with Moore-Hill Hall, the Horns' dormitory, as the return address. There was even a little orange "T" sticker on the envelope.
Ernie had written me a very nice letter. And it was on UT stationery. He thanked me for the note and my artwork. Ernie said he liked showing the drawings to the other Longhorn players. In closing, he reminded me to "Study hard." That letter was quickly framed and displayed in my bedroom, a shrine to Longhorn football.. Boy, I had some proud parents.
I continued to send letters and drawings to Ernie his next two seasons. He suffered a bad injury in just his third game of the '63 season, missing most of the national championship year. But he found time to write to one of his young fans. Study hard, he reiterated.
As a senior in '64, Koy led the Horns in rushing, blasting out tough, hard-earned yards. Back in the spring Daddy had taken me down to see him after the Orange-White game, played in San Antonio, fifteen minutes from our house. Ernie was huge, at 6-3, 225. I managed a few words of gratefulness and shook his big right hand, later telling my parents I would probably never wash that hand again. I couldn't wait for fall.
Turns out, Ernie saved his absolute best for last at UT. When his 9-1 Longhorns challenged the already crowned national champion Alabama Crimson Tide in the first ever nighttime Orange Bowl,
the Joe Namath-led Tide was favored. But Koy broke a scoreless tie late in the first quarter, racing 79 yards on a sweep for a Texas TD, by far the longest run of his career. Every member of my family jumped up and down in front of the black-and-white TV. Ernie scored another TD in the second period and Texas had Bama down, 21-7, at halftime. Tommy Nobis and the UT defense rose up for a heroic goal line stand in the game's waning moments to seal the deal. Texas had turned back the Tide, 21-17.
Somehow, the first week of 1965 just kept getting better. In a few days, my copy of Sports Illustrated arrived in the mail, and Ernie adorned the cover, wheeling out on his 79-yard sprint! How cool was that?!
It would soon be expertly framed.
Life got even better the next day. A letter arrived for me, postmarked Miami, Florida.
My biggest hero, Ernie Koy, Jr, had taken time in the days approaching the Orange Bowl game, to write a letter to an eleven-year-old kid back in Texas, deliberately bringing my address with him. As always, he urged me to study hard.
Daddy was just amazed. My Mom cried again. I'm pretty sure I did, too.
That act of kindness by Ernie has always remained with me.
I'm glad to be one link in the blood tradition that's burnt orange. And this latest season reminded me of a day brightener early in the year, amid the gray gloom of January. Nephew Wade had sent me something he said was just a little souvenir he picked up online. Wanted his old Uncle Junior to have it.
Turned out it was a football card of Ernie Koy, Jr, clutching a football for the New York Giants.
Kindness. It keeps on getting forwarded. And makes a lasting impression.
Write to Larry Carlson at LC13@txstate.edu
Ghosts of the Orange Bowl
21h ·
Happy 81st birthday to Ernie Koy. On January 1, 1965, Koy rushed for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Texas Longhorns to a 21-17 upset victory over #1 Alabama in the 1965 Orange Bowl. Koy's performance earned him an appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It was the first New Year's Orange Bowl game played at night. Koy scored on two touchdown runs of 79 and 2 yards to spoil a brilliant performance by Crimson Tide quarterback Joe Namath, who threw for 255 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Namath did not start the game due to a knee injury. But after Alabama fell behind 21-7, Namath nearly rallied the Crimson Tide to victory. Late in the 4th quarter, Namath was stopped short of the goal line on a 4th down quarterback sneak. Despite the loss, Namath was named the game's MVP. Alabama was crowned national champions. At the time, national champions were voted after the regular season.
Koy went on to get drafted in the third round of the 1965 AFL Draft by the Houston Oilers and the 11th round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He chose to sign with the Giants, where he played six NFL seasons from 1965 to 1970. Koy played in 79 games, carried 414 times and gained 1,723 yards. He also has 498 receiving yards with 76 receptions, many from quarterback Fran Tarkenton. In addition, he completed six passes in 12 attempts, with one touchdown and one interception. Koy was also the Giants' punter with a 38.5 yard average, and returned 30 kicks during his career. After his pro career, Koy returned to his hometown Bellville, Texas where he went into a long career in banking. In 2015, he was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame.
